Russia’s attacks against Ukraine’s capital city have been intensifying for some time and continue to do so. Missile and drone strikes are now more frequently killing civilians and damaging residential buildings, with attacks frequently leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity. And the most recent rounds of attacks come as Moscow steps up its campaign against Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of the winter — raising concerns that 2026 could become Kyiv’s deadliest year since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022.
On Friday, October 23, reports described how the Ukrainian capital was beginning to resemble a front-line city, with residents more frequently spending their nights underground to avoid Russian missile and drone attacks. A Deutsche Welle report described how subway stations were being converted into makeshift dormitories, with families sleeping on mattresses and in tents every night.
A MIM-104 Patriot Surface-to-Air Missile System assigned to the Fort Bliss, Texas-based 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade fires as part of a bi-lateral live-fire exercise with military members from the Royal Netherlands Ground-based Air Defense Command at McGregor Range, N.M., May 11, 2024. The Patriot Missile System is a highly mobile air defense guided missile system designed to engage and intercept any aerial threats whether it be aircraft or tactical ballistic missiles under any weather conditions and in natural or induced environments. The command showcased its capabilities firing interceptors at simulated drone targets during the training event working with Dutch Allies.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Rincon)
Patriot Missile Launch. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The report comes after Russia launched another major attack on Kyiv, this time on October 22, using ballistic missiles and drones. The strikes damaged residential buildings and businesses, and knocked out civilian infrastructure. The attack also came only hours after Moscow said that it was willing to resume negotiations with Ukraine, mediated by the United States, with a view to ending the war.
Kyiv Faces Deadliest Year Yet
Kyiv’s military administration has published figures that show how 140 civilians were killed in the capital city during the first eight months of 2026, compared with 172 throughout the entirety of 2025. Kyiv is no longer a relatively safe city in Ukraine—and, in fact, very few places in Ukraine are safe at all.
If the current trend continues, the number of people killed in Kyiv this year could exceed previous annual totals recorded since the Russian invasion began.
And the situation is dramatically changing how ordinary Ukrainians live. Speaking to Deutsche Welle, a woman named Halyna described taking her five-year-old son, Roman, to a nearby subway station most evenings. Families, she said, are moving to the subways at night even without air-raid warnings, for fear that Russian missiles may not be intercepted or even tracked to begin with.
The danger isn’t limited to residential buildings in the city, either; strikes have also damaged commercial buildings and public transportation infrastructure.
Russia Launches Another Major Assault
Russia launched a large missile and drone offensive overnight into October 22. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow fired at least 21 ballistic missiles toward Kyiv in three waves of assaults.
Reuters reported that three of the missiles were carrying cluster warheads, which are designed to release smaller explosives over a wide area. Zelenskyy said that one cluster warhead hit the historic Pechersk district in Kyiv, damaging buildings close to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and Holy Presentation Monastery.
The weapons are understood to cause damage up to 400 meters from the point of detonation.
Reports said that the strikes resulted in the death of at least one person. Twenty-two were also injured in Kyiv. In the Dniprovskyi district, fires broke out following the strikes, injuring six people, including a child.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, also said an ambulance station in the Pechersk district was damaged, along with six ambulances. No medical personnel were reported injured.
Russian missiles also reportedly struck infrastructure on the Southern Bridge that crosses the Dnipro River. Those strikes disrupted subway services and forced local authorities to restrict road traffic.
The strikes also came only hours after Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin was willing, in principle, to resume negotiations with Ukraine and the United States after November 10. Putin met with special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg earlier that day.
Russia Launches Thousands of Weapons
The latest rounds of strikes are part of an ongoing Russian campaign intended to make living in Ukrainian cities incredibly difficult and to knock out critical energy infrastructure ahead of the winter months. On Sunday, October 25, President Zelenskyy said that Russia had launched around 1,600 guided aerial bombs, 48 missiles, and nearly 2,300 attack drones against Ukraine over the previous week.
Iskander-M. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
“Unfortunately, almost every day there are dead and wounded from these brutal strikes,” he said.
He said the strikes damaged infrastructure across nine regions, including thermal power plants, electrical substations, coal mines, grain storage facilities, and shopping centers.
On October 24, Russian strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region also killed four people and injured 22, including an 11-year-old girl. In Vinnytsia, six people were injured by a Russian drone strike on an apartment building.
The strikes have prompted Kyiv to request new Western military assistance, with Zelenskyy calling on European governments to accelerate previously approved deliveries of interceptor missiles and warning that Russia may intensify its use of ballistic missiles as Ukraine’s interceptor supplies continue to decline.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, and he produces and edits analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
